LOS ANGELES — A team of five UCLA Anderson School of Management students won first prize at the 14th annual Deloitte Consulting Case Competition, held January 11-13th at UCLA Anderson. Team Mindstorm received a cash grand prize of $5K. The four finalist teams won a $1K prize. The competition consisted of 22 teams made up of four to five UCLA Anderson students, for a total of 106 first-year MBA and second-year Fully Employed MBA (FEMBA) students.

This year UCLA Anderson student teams were given the task of expanding J. Fold, a leather goods manufacturing company, into the women’s handbag market. The company primarily manufactures men’s wallets and is looking to grow. Teams were asked to make recommendations regarding target segment and placement, market entry strategy and economics, make vs. buy, and J. Fold’s organizational structure.

“The Deloitte Competition was a great simulation of what an actual strategy position would entail,” said Steven Toomey (MBA ’08), team Mindstorm captain. “I think we ultimately won because we didn't just accept that task as a given, but questioned whether the task itself was the best use of the client's core competencies and resources.”

The Competition was led by Deloitte’s campus recruiter Amabelle Cardenas, UCLA Anderson School’s director of student services Susan Corley, and UCLA Anderson School’s manager of academic services Lynn Foxx. Students were given the opportunity to focus on a broad business problem that requires them to integrate many management disciplines.

The members of the winning Mindstorm team are Steven Toomey (Captain), Andy Calver, Tara Hintz, Tyler Morris, and AJ Prager (all MBA ’08).

Each judge was paired with a Deloitte & Touche USA LLP Executive. Teams had 5 minutes to set up, 20 minutes to present and 10 minutes to answer questions led by the judging panel. The competition began with 22 teams on a Saturday morning, and by afternoon the judges selected five finalist teams to compete for first place.

About UCLA Anderson School of ManagementUCLA Anderson School of Management, established in 1935, is regarded among the very best business schools in the world. UCLA Anderson faculty are ranked #1 in "intellectual capital" by BusinessWeek and are renowned for their teaching excellence and research in advancing management thinking. Each year, UCLA Anderson provides management education to more than 1,600 students enrolled in MBA, Executive MBA, Fully-Employed MBA and doctoral programs, and to more than 2,000 professional managers through executive education programs. Combining highly selective admissions, varied and innovative learning programs, and a world-wide network of 35,000 alumni, UCLA Anderson develops and prepares global leaders.